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Arsenal’s Mass of Central Midfielders Finally Makes Sense
By Josh Sippie
When you create so many chances, inevitably some of them are going to find the back of the net. Even with Theo Walcott skying the ball over open nets and Olivier Giroud scuffing them wide of the far post with the goalie to beat, eventually they were going to go in.
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The starting XI that Arsene Wenger sent out against Stoke City was essentially the same one we have been seeing all year. A central midfielder manned every known position except for defense, keeper and striker. It had looked mighty frustrating throughout the year thus far and it was frustrating today, but not for lack of creativity. Arsenal could have gotten off to a ridiculously good start had Alexis and the post not had a war. Walcott missing chances was another frustration as well.
But all of the central midfielders paid off today. Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil looked like right geniuses. They were controlling the game and picking out passes with incredible quality. Ozil got the first assist on a long ball that landed perfectly on Walcott’s foot, leaving him no chance but to score.
On the day, Arsenal took 29 shots, 12 of which were on target (via WhosScored.com). They mustered 13 corners to Stoke City’s 1. Again, we saw an Arsenal team that can look dominant and unstoppable, but this time it paid off with a little less frustration. This team is improving. They are beginning to look like they know what they are doing out there.
The criticism on Arsene Wenger has been coming in hard and fast this year, particularly for his insistence on playing so many central midfielders. But against Stoke, it really made sense why. It is almost like a coping mechanism for our current strikers’ forms. With Giroud and Walcot both struggling to be that clinical finisher, Arsenal need to pound as many chances at goal as they can. They need as many creative minds engineering one-on-one opportunities as humanly possible.
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Walcott and Giroud botched chances today. But by consistently putting the ball at their feet (or head) with superb chances to score, they had to eventually capitalize. If these strikers can click like we have seen in the past, this Arsenal club will have all the working mechanisms.
With so many central midfielders, who have been trained to be creative and find chances, Arsenal will continue to lead the league in chances created. That is all they can do until the strikers click.
Granted, the opposition was only Stoke City. However, Stoke’s point total does not completely reflect their quality thus far into the year. They were not pushovers. They fought back and Arsenal was there to absorb it. This was finally a nice, conclusive win from an Arsenal side that we all knew were capable of such.
It is only a matter of time before these strikers find their consistent boots. When they do, we are in for a treat.
Next: Arsenal v Stoke City Player Ratings